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PITTSBURGH — As participants in the past 11 Stanley Cup playoffs, adversity is hardly new to the Ottawa Senators. But never has Ottawa faced the prospect of trying to win a series without its captain and all-round best player, Daniel Alfredsson.
In fact, until Wednesday's 4-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first game of their NHL Eastern Conference quarter-final, the Senators had never played a playoff game in the modern era without Alfredsson, who has 43 goals and 37 assists in 99 career postseason contests for Ottawa.
That things didn't go so well without him on Wednesday shouldn't be much of a surprise, given the difficulty the Sens have had in winning at any time of the year without Alfredsson in the lineup.
This past regular season, Ottawa was 3-9 without him. A year ago, it was 1-4, and the year before that 2-3. Throw in Wednesday night's loss and the Senators are a combined 6-17 when Alfredsson sits out.
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Alfredsson suffered knee and head injuries last week in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Do the Senators have any chance of defeating the Penguins without Alfredsson?
"I think we can," Jason Spezza said. "He's a key part of our team, but we can win without him."
Clearly, Alfredsson's absence has left some gaping holes in Ottawa's lineup. For example, after Randy Robitaille replaced Alfredsson at right wing on Ottawa's top line for the first game, general manager and head coach Bryan Murray now plans to use Martin Lapointe in that spot alongside Spezza and Dany Heatley for tonight's second game.
"[Lapointe] will go up and down the wing and be really solid and has a bit of a physical element to him," Murray said.
The move is intended to open up ice for Spezza and Heatley, who carry the bulk of the pressure to score. But whether it's Lapointe or Robitaille, who combined for 13 goals in the regular season, the drop-off is immense from Alfredsson, who scored 40 goals and racked up 83 points.
The drop-off was evident early in the first game, when Robitaille missed on Ottawa's best scoring chance of the first period. He couldn't convert a pass off the rush, the kind of opportunity Alfredsson might have buried.
Nowhere was Alfredsson's absence felt more than on special teams. The Senators were 0-for-7 on the power play, including two 5-on-3 situations. The Penguins had the fourth best power play during the regular season and are capable of blowing teams out with the man advantage alone. But with Alfredsson out, Ottawa's chances of matching Pittsburgh in this all-important area are reduced considerably.
"We miss him," Heatley said, "especially on the power play and the penalty kill, where he plays key roles."
It's also hard to ignore the fact that Ottawa's roll through the playoffs last spring coincided with Alfredsson's best postseason performance ever. He was Ottawa's leader, its catalyst on the ice and its best player, collecting four winning goals and points in 16 of 20 games. Against the Anaheim Ducks in the final, he was the only offensive player not completely erased by the Ducks, scoring four times and adding an assist in five games.
But his absence could be most damaging to the Senators psyche, which in the past had come into question before their captain led them where they'd never before been last spring.
"Alfie is a key leader to that team," said Pittsburgh's Marian Hossa, a former teammate in Ottawa. "He's the heart and soul, and when you miss that kind of guy, you miss lots."
